Sketchbook
by savvyliterate
Summary: A collection of Slayers based drabbles and oneshots that focuses on the entire cast and spans the anime, manga and novels.
1. Anger

**Disclaimer:** Slayers does not belong to me, but is the property of Hajime Kazanka, Rui Araizumi and those companies that represent them. I'm just borrowing them for a little while. The dialogue at the end of the story comes from the manga "Inuyasha" by Rumiko Takahashi and is in volume 29, chapter 286 of that work.

**Introduction:** This isn't a story persay, but a collection of drabbles and one-shots that really don't have a home anywhere else. It's similiar in nature to my on-going Inuyasha fic, "Shikon no Go: A Fanfic in 100 Chapters," which is based off of Akai Kitsune's "Kendo no Go" for Rurouni Kenshin. The model for both of those stories is "In the Language of Love," a novel by Diane Schoemperlen. Like "Shikon no Go," the chapters here vary in length from very short to somewhat lengthy, feature all of the charactersand are based off of one-word themes. However, there's not a firm chapter count like there is with "Shikon no Go " (which is on chapter 85 right now.) This sketchbook will cover the anime, manga and novels and those have events that tend to contradict each other at times. The author's notes at the end of the chapters should help make clear if I'm using a storyline other than the anime.

oOoOo

"Anger"

In the days following his rescue from Isabella, Lina followed Gourry like a stray puppy attached to an unsuspecting new owner. It was something Gourry found both amusing and frustrating. There weren't many times when he wanted to be by himself, but now was one of them. Instead of him faithfully following Lina, she was doing the same to him.

Thanks to a bit of white magic by a guilty Lina, most of his injuries from his recent kidnapping had faded. Those were relatively nothing and if anything, he had become use to being banged up in various schemes hatched by Lina.

But this latest one made him furious, and she just quite didn't get it. It wasn't Lina's fault that he had gotten kidnapped, but her attitude about rescuing him could had been a little bit different. What gave her the right to think she could cast explosive spells on him at will and follow it up by tears and an apology? Was he so simple?

Gourry snorted. Yes. Yes, he was.

He didn't bother looking over his shoulder at her. "Don't you have a village to blow up or something? Restaurant to go plunder? Princesses to go leech money off of?"

"I knew it! You're still mad!"

He increased his walking pace and she kept right up with him.

"Come on, Gourry, you've been giving me the cold shoulder for three days now." Lina danced around in front of him and gave him a silly expression, hoping to draw a smile from him. Instead, he nearly stepped on her. He quickly side-stepped her and kept going.

"Look, what did you want me to say? You're my true love and I had to storm the castle on your behalf? I would had never gotten anywhere with Isabella otherwise! You're being a bit too pig-headed."

He whirled around and stuck his nose in her face. "If that was the case, why didn't you explain that three days ago instead of looking like a moose caught in trap?"

Lina raised an eyebrow. "You mean mouse, right?"

Gourry sighed and turned his back on her. He made his way off the road, spotting a small creek not far away. He knelt and drank several handfuls of water, then moved to a shady patch of grass and leaned against a sun-warmed boulder.

Lina dropped to the ground by his side. After a few minutes, Gourry glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and noticed she appeared deep in thought. Her eyes were downcast and she seemed a little sad. He shifted uncomfortably, knowing he was the reason why she felt that way. But he had every right to be angry. He'd been serious when he told her that he would protect her for the rest of his life. After all, as dangerous as they were together, she'd be lethal on her own.

He has plenty of time to mull the situation over and knew that Lina had to be taught a lesson. There were times that she treated him like a toy, and for the most part, he didn't mind. But for some reason, with this one situation, it did.

She laced her fingers together, pulled them apart and repeated it. "How long are you going to be mad at me?"

"I don't know." The longer they sat together, the less angry he felt. He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of knowing that.

Lina sighed. "Okay. Maybe I put you in danger just a little."

He snorted. "Just a little?"

"Okay, a lot! I shouldn't had done what I did. There, I admitted it. Are you happy?" She folded her arms over her chest and pouted a bit.

"That's not what I'm mad about."

Lina scowled. "Then why are you mad at me?"

It was now or never, Gourry decided. "Do you still want the Sword of Light?"

Lina's eyes danced and she clasped her hands together. "Are you giving it to me?"

"If I did, what would you do with it?"

Lina got to her knees and nearly bounced with excitement as she described in detail all of the experiments she would try, the bandits she could get and how she would study its properties. Most of it went over his head, but his heart sank lower and lower the longer she prattled on.

"What would you do with me?" he asked so quietly that she almost didn't hear him.

Her litany halted and she sat back on her haunches. She stared at her hands, then plopped back on the ground. "I don't know," she muttered. "Why, are you going somewhere?"

The ache in his heart eased slightly. "But you keep saying you want my sword..."

She hastily cut him off. "What did you expect me to do? Sell you off to a circus the moment I get my hands on it?"

His eyes lit up and he jabbed afinger in her face. "Ah, so you have considered it!"

"I have not!" Lina's voice rose to a shout and she glared at him. "What makes you think that I would get rid of you once I had the sword?"

"But you keep saying that you were just rescuing me because I have the Sword of Light," Gourry pointed out.

"Of course you have the Sword of Light! That's a fact! And even if you hadn't had it, I'd rescued you. Are you happy now?" She waited for his reaction, then huffed a little. "You're still angry, aren't you?"

Gourry looked down at her. Lina stared at the water, eyes hooded, shoulders slumped. Impulsively, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her against him. She stiffened, then relaxed and leaned into him.

"I'm still a little angry," he admitted. _But because I love you, I can't help it_.

oOoOo

**Author's Note:** This one-shot came about as an experiment in attempting to write from Gourry's point of view for a scene in "Search for the Darkstar." After several drafts which resulted in some head-banging, I figured it was time to try some short pieces to see if I could get into his head, which is very hard. It's not as rough as writingZelgadiss, but still not as easy as Lina or Amelia. This story is set following the two-part "Target: Gourry" story in the original Rui Araizumi manga, published as Slayers: Medieval Mayham in the U.S. Gourry's lines at the end are borrowed from the series Inuyasha and come from volume 29, chapter 286 of that manga.


	2. Unexpected

**Disclaimer:** Slayers does not belong to me, but is the property of Hajime Kazanka, Rui Araizumi and those companies that represent them. I'm just borrowing them for a little while.

**Spoiler warnings:** Takes place during Slayers Next. This was originally written for the "slayerscontest" LiveJournal Community.

oOoOo

"Unexpected"

Xelloss was pretty sure that he had them all figured out. They were pathetically easy to predict. Lina was the firebrand, the go-getter. She was the leader and didn't hesitate in performing that job. She was also quite the stubborn woman, which gave him a headache on more than one occasion.

Amelia was the justice-loving freak. Martina was just a freak. But she was an excuse to keep him near the others. Zelgadiss was brooding and exasperated. Gourry was just an airhead, but good with a sword.

Or so Xelloss thought.

He was lingering outside the latest tavern with his traditional cup of tea when he spotted the swordsman heading to the necessary. Their eyes met and Gourry gave a slight nod before moving into the small building. When he stepped out, instead of heading back inside, he approached Xelloss.

Xelloss lowered his tea, noticing the change in Gourry's stance. He watched as Gourry withdrew the Sword of Light and activated it. They both studied the vibrating blade before Gourry suddenly turned and leaned against the fence next to him.

"You know I'm Lina's protector, right?" he asked.

"Of course. It's no secret." Xelloss sipped at his tea.

"You also know that this sword can easily kill a Mazoku."

"Most Mazoku," Xelloss replied smoothly.

Gourry absently twisted the sword's hilt, making the blade wave in the air. "Do you know that no matter how much you sip at your cup, the level of the tea inside never goes down?"

Xelloss blinked and stared into his cup, at the liquid that still hovered near the top.

"And also, you never eat anything other than cake and ice cream. You never bathe, never even have to relieve yourself." Gourry slanted a look in Xelloss' direction. "And, right now, as I'm talking, you're not breathing."

Automatically, Xelloss sucked in a breath of air. He let it out in a whoosh and chuckled. "So, you've found out my secret, Gourry-san." _And he was the least likely to have figured it out too..._

"I've known it for awhile." He relaxed, still toying with the sword. "But, even if I told Lina, I'm not quite sure she would believe me." He lazily turned his head so he could see Xelloss. "If you plan to hurt Lina, I'll walk in there right now and tell her."

"I have no plans to hurt Lina-san," Xellos replied. At this time at least. "I, like you, am searching for the Claire Bible. Why haven't you told her before now?"

"There's been no need to. You haven't tried to hurt her, so there's no reason for me to tell." Gourry resheathed his sword and pinned Xelloss with a serious gaze. "Should that situation change, I won't hesitate to use this sword against you."

"That's fine." Xelloss tossed out the tea in his cup and gave Gourry a smile. "So, for now, it's our secret."

Gourry nodded and headed back to the tavern. Xelloss watched and marveled. Even after all this time, there was a human or two that could still surprise him.

oOoOo

Reviewer Response:

**Ichiban Victory:** Yeah, Gourry isn't one for getting mad, or staying that way, with Lina. But I think in this case, it did matter to him a lot that she would come rescue him - not just to get the Sword of Light back. Especially since he just made the declaration that he would protect her for the rest of his life.

**Shinomori Kyo** and **Hitteh Pitteh**: Thank you both! The updates will be pretty frequent in the first few days as I work through the backlog of stuff I had written up for LiveJournal communities. Since writing both Gourry and Zelgadiss are giving me trouble at the moment, there'll probably be more just simply off the effort of me trying to write them better.


	3. Observation

**Disclaimer:** Slayers does not belong to me, but is the property of Hajime Kazanka, Rui Araizumi and those companies that represent them. I'm just borrowing them for a little while.

**Spoiler warnings:** None really. It is based off of an okakei picture of Zelgadiss and Amelia found on a Japanese oekaki board. When I went to double-check the URL, I discovered the exact picture had cycled off the site. It was a very intense portrait of Amelia against the wall and Zel looming over her with the intent to kiss her. This drabble was originally written for the "Slayerscontest" community on LiveJournal.

oOoOo

"Observation"

It had been, as far as meals went, a very satisfying repast. And, after all good meals, one needed a nap. After accompanying Lina Inverse on a bandit-hunting, treasure-gathering quest, one needed a very long nap.

Hence, Gourry decided to spend his afternoon snoozing in the room he shared with Zelgadiss at the inn they were staying in.

Arms stretched above his head, he gave a great yawn as he walked up the stairs and came to a sudden halt when he noticed Zelgadiss and Amelia.

The princess had her back to the wall, her eyes wide and breathing labored. The chimera loomed over her with a look so passionate, so intense that Gourry immediately averted his eyes, embarassed to catch the couple in such an intimate moment.

He descended the stairs, bemused. He noticed Lina sitting at a small table outside the inn and headed out there to join her.

She glanced up from her spellbook as he took the seat opposite from her. "Couldn't sleep?"

"No," he replied, lost in thought. He thought about Amelia and Zelgadiss for a few minutes, then smiled. "Say, Lina, do you like weddings?"

She jerked, gave him a stunned look. "What makes you ask that?"

Gourry shrugged. "I just get the impression that we're going to be in one pretty soon."

Hands shaking, face as crimson as her eyes, Lina carefully marked her place in the book and closed it. "Say that again?"

He gave her a huge grin. "I said we're going to be in a wedding soon."

The resulting look of absolute shock from Lina had Gourry breaking out into large peals of laughter, the sound carrying down the street, causing people to glance back in their direction.

"Tha...that's absurd, Gourry! What makes you think we're going to be in a wedding?"

From the open window above them, a loud, passionate female moan emitted from the room, followed by the scream of "Zelgadiss-san!"

Gourry jerked a thumb at the open window. "Oh, that."

Lina buried her head in her hands.

Gourry only laughed harder.

oOoOo

**Reviewer Response:**

**Lina Gabriev:** Yeah, the drabble was written before I got to see Slayers Next the second time. So I figured that either Xelloss was playing along or he was shocked that Gourry actually remembered. The Araizumi manga is great, but hard to find now. I got my copy off of eBay recently.

**Maddy02:** Gourry really is a walking paradox and that's why I love him so as a character. It doesn't help though that the anime made him that way - really dumbing him down from the novels and manga. In those, he's just sweetly obtuse ("Moon? There's the moon!") I really like your insight into how Gourry's mind works compared to that of the rest of the group.

**Hitteh Pitteh:** Heee! Martina has grown on me, though I am still tempted to slap some sense into her. Lina getting at Brass Rackets was one of the best things ever.

**Earth Star:** Thank you!


	4. Secrets

**Disclaimer:** Slayers does not belong to me, but is the property of Hajime Kazanka, Rui Araizumi and those companies that represent them. I'm just borrowing them for a little while.

**Spoiler warnings:** Set immediately after the last episode of Slayers Try. This was originally written for the "Slayerscontest" LiveJournal community.

oOoOo

"Secrets"

I sometimes wonder about the burden that I have taken on and quickly scold myself for even thinking that it's a burden. It's not. It's a joy and a matter of honor. It's the repayment of a debt. It nowhere begins to account for the mistakes of the past, but it's a start.

Even so, sometimes I sit outside at night with him cradled in my hands and stare out over the ocean. On the other side lives the men and women who helped me to get this chance and I will thank them properly some day. Maybe they can help me tell him what happened, how he was given this second chance at life.

But, I'm so afraid of what will happen when he finds out - the secrets buried in his past and in mine. What will he do when he discovers that my people wiped out his? That he was once a subordinate of the Mazoku Gaav? Would he remember? Would he want to pick up where he left off? Would my loving him not be enough?

"My, my, Filia-san. Such deep thoughts."

My eyes darted over to spot the last thing I wanted to associate with. If I hadn't been cradling Valgaav's egg, I would had pulled out my mace and shown that bastard of a Mazoku what he had coming. Instead, I huffed and turned my back on him. "Why do you get such constant pleasure out of torturing me at night like this?"

"Don't you know, Filia-san?" Xelloss floated around until he was in my line of sight. "Mazoku feed off of the negative emotions that humans - and dragons as well - emit. You're doing a very nice job at expressing fear, doubt and shame at the moment and who am I to pass up on such a bountiful feast?"

"Go to hell," I hissed back at him.

He waved his index finger at me. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Such a rude thing to say. Aren't you suppose to be a good influence for Valgaav?"

"It's not like he can hear me at the moment," I shot back at him, then realized something horrible.

What if Xelloss told Valgaav the truth about his past before I could? Oh gods, what if he tried to recruit him for the Mazoku race again? As much as we have fought in the past, both Xelloss and I both knew that he was much, much more powerful than me. I squeezed my eyes shut to get his disgusting face out of my immediate vision. Would Valgaav never have a chance?

Panic welled up inside me and I fought the urge to take to the skies, Valgaav protected in my hands. I could seek out Lina-san in the north. If anyone would stop Xelloss from talking, she would be the person to do it. She's probably the only one who could do so. Maybe Amelia-san could sing him sweet songs of justice to torture him as well. Oh, why didn't I take up her offer to learn those songs before she left?

"Keep going, keep going, Filia-san. You're making me feel very strong tonight."

My eyes snapped open and I bared my teeth at the grinning Mazoku. "You are one sick...Nagagomi."

I turned my back on him. "Answer me this, and answer it truthfully, or I will take to the skies right now, find Lina-san and unleash her on you."

I swore I heard Xelloss gulp, though he would deny it if I asked. Even though Xelloss would kill Lina-san easily if it was in his best interest to do so, even he was intimidated by her.

"Will you recruit Valgaav for the Mazoku race?" I asked.

I heard the rustling of cloth, then suddenly he was beside me, staring at the egg in my hands. "That, Filia-san, is a secret."

Why am I not surprised? "Will you tell him about what happened in the past?"

"Only if you won't."

My head snapped up, my eyes locking on his face. But he wasn't staring at me now. He kept his focus on Valgaav.

"You may think you're keeping it quiet, so Gravos and Jillas won't worry. But I've pretty much been able to guess what the source behind your emotions are. You're not quite sure that you want to air your dirty laundry - or should I say your race's dirty laundry - for Valgaav."

"I am afraid that he will make the same mistakes again," I admitted.

Xelloss seemed to consider it for a moment. "It won't exactly thrill him to discover what his life used to be. But he deserves to know. If you don't tell him..."

I'm no better than the people who came before me, I silently finished for him. I sighed and lovingly ran my fingers over the egg. "It's no use keeping it a secret, right?"

"No. And, you'd be wise to tell him when he is capable of understanding it. Because if you don't, someone else will. He won't take it very well if it's someone else."

Like himself, I thought. I sighed. "All right. It won't be easy, but I'll do it and let him make his own decision."

Xelloss finally gave me a half-smile. "Well, if he is ever interested in helping the Mazoku race..."

I turned away from him and lifted my chin regally. "Like I'd ever let a child of mine associate with a Mazoku?"

"He'd either be associating with a Mazoku or with Lina Inverse. Six one way, half-dozen the other."

He had a point, I realized and began to laugh. It felt so good to do that. And when I stopped long enough to see if he was still there, I wasn't surprised to notice that I was alone again. I smiled wryly, then headed home, humming cheerfully.

oOoOo

**Reviewer Response:**

**Stef:** I think this one got by you as well.

**Maddy02:** I really wish the picture hadn't gotten yanked because it was such a good picture. It was of Amelia backed against a wall, Zel looming over her with the intent to kiss her. There's space to their right where a shaft of sunlight hits and it looks like someone's about to walk in on them. As for Gourry, the part of the series that really got me upset was Try. The original series and Next weren't so bad. Those moments you listed are all favorites of mine. But then once we reach season three, it seems like all he's doing is running around being starved or lamenting after the Sword of Light. Then again, everyone sort of got the shaft then at times. Though one of my favorite moments in that season was Gourry immediately forfeiting the Sword of Light that Amelia and Zel had just gotten back for him an effort to save Lina from Valgaav. Oh, and when he decided to "borrow" Filia's mace during that same fight. I just think sometimes, the anime portrayal leads to unnecessary Gourry-bashing. Hehehe, now I'm ranting too. We should touch base on AIM or Yahoo sometime.

**Hitteh Pitteh:** Thanks! Lina's horror is just wonderful to imagine. The first track of the first Slayers N>Ex Radio Drama is of Lina dreaming that she married Gourry. That was also hilarious.


	5. First Fireball

**NOTE:** This story was originally posted in the collection "A Tale of Two Sisters." Since "Sketchbook" is suppose to be a catch-all for all of my Slayers drabbles and short one-shots, I wanted to fold that story into this one.

-----

"First Fireball"

There was no denying that Lina Inverse was a very precocious child. She was literally into everything and giving her mother headaches from the time she was four months old and figured out how to pull herself across the floor. Lina had promptly wormed her way over into the coal bin and stunned her parents when they noticed their youngest covered in soot, kicking her arms and legs happily as she played with a lump of charcoal.

Since she was an active baby, everyone's day centered around preventing Lina from getting herself into some horrific accident. They tried magical wards, but she crawled through them. They tried baby gates, but she managed to either knock them down or climb over them. They tried tethering her, but Lina still managed to pull something down, knock something over or get into a situation where it would require some fast-talking to a customer or running like hell to prevent her from hurting herself or someone else.

"If she's like this as a baby, I'm afraid to see what she'll be like when she's older," her harried mother told her father.

When she was three, Lina noticed something going on with her big sister, Luna. Luna was almost 8 years old, and everyone was fussing over her going to the temple to be involved in a ceremony making her the Knight of Ceiphied - or something like that. Lina didn't quite get it. But, she did get that everyone was ignoring her in favor of Luna.

That Lina didn't like at all.

She cried, threw tantrums and tried to get involved, but her parents wouldn't stop to play. Luna told her to stop being silly and don't cry. That made Lina even madder. So in defiance, she decided to go have fun on her own.

She slipped out of the store and toddled across the street to where a sorcerer was giving a magic demonstration. Because she was so small - looking more like she was 18 months old rather than being three - she was able to slip through the crowd to get a perfect view of the sorcerer.

The sorcerer was standing on one of the platforms used when the city was under attack. Sorcerers would gather on the some of the platforms and launch offensive spells at the approaching invadors like defensive spells were cast from other platforms for protection. They were also used for drills so their skills wouldn't be rusty.

A second sorcerer joined the first and in unison, they chanted and cast a weird spell called "Elmekia Lance."

"El-me-ka Lance!" Lina repeated, waving her little arms. But she wasn't able to produce the pretty lights that shot into the sky like the big sorcerers did. She pouted until the sorcerers started to cast their next spell.

"Oh, source of all power, light which burns beyond crimson, let thy power gather in my hand...FIREBALL!"

Lina's eyes widened as big balls of fire shot out from the sorcerers' hands and hurled through the sky until they fizzled out. The crowd applauded, but she was too captivated to respond or to realize that her father had worked his way through the crowd. The next thing she knew, she was in his arms and being carried back home to receive a scolding.

"Lina-chan, you shouldn't run off like that," her mother scolded as her father brought her in.

Her father patted her back. "It's been a rough few days for her. She's already asleep. We can talk to her later."

But Lina wasn't asleep. She was thinking...

oOoOo

She stopped bugging her parents after that and became absorbed in a new game of pretend. She was now Lina, a great sorceress, and ran around screaming "Elmeka Lance!" at the Inverse's terrified cat. Her parents smiled at Lina's mispronuciation of the spell and was grateful that she wasn't throwing fits anymore.

Several days later, she was bundled into a new dress and carried to the temple of Ceiphied at the uppermost part of the city. She sat in her father's lap as she watched Luna go through some sort of strange ceremony. It was long and boring, so she entertained herself by putting together the pieces of the little word rhyme the sorcerers had said a few days earlier that caused the pretty fire spell.

Following the ceremony, the priest brought Luna back to them and spoke with her parents.

"Your daughter is a very special young woman," he said. "She will bring much honor upon Zefielia." The priest patted Luna's back and she gave him a proper, ladylike smile.

His gaze fell upon Lina, who was babbling to herself in her father's arms. "And what about this little Inverse? I wonder if she will be blessed with special powers too?"

Lina blinked, then noticed the smiling priest talking to her. "I remember the rhyme," she informed him.

"Oh? You remember one of the prayers chanted about Ceiphied? I would like to hear it."

What's a Ceiphied, Lina wondered, then forgot to ask about it. Now was her chance to show off! "Umm...source of all power, light which burns beyond crimson..."

The priest raised an eyebrow. "I don't think that's prayer to Ceiphied, child..."

Luna suddenly tugged at her father's sleeve. "Father, stop Lina before she hurts something," she said softly.

Lina ignored the growing commotion and concentrated on repeating each word slowly and carefully while keeping her hands close together like the sorcerers had. "Let thy power gather in my hand...FIREBALL!"

Suddenly, a little ball of energy formed between Lina's small hands, and shot out from them. The force of the spell scared Lina so much that she began to cry. The fireball slammed into the priest and threw him back into a nearby post.

Her parents gasped in shock as Lina wailed, her hands burning from the power of the spell.

Luna sighed and pushed her fingers through her hair. "I told you to stop her," she muttered.

oOoOo

The Inverses were convinced that the spell Lina cast was something completely random. After all, no one had ever heard of a 3-year-old casting a Fireball spell. But after Lina fireballed the cat a few days later, they immediately took her to the Zefielia Sorcerer's Guild and explained their daughter's little talent.

"So, you're the little lady who's gotten a city in an uproar, haven't you?" The head of the guild asked as he bounced Lina in his lap. Across the room, his aide smoldered after being the latest recipent of one of Lina's fireball demonstrations.

He turned his attention to her parents. "I admit that Lina's ability to cast a Fireball is quite unusual. I usually recommend that young sorcerers being around seven years old before we take them on, but with your permission, I think it'll help Lina to have her begin taking classes now. It appears your daughter has a lot of natural talent, and the sooner she learns out to control it, the better it will be for everyone."

"Elmeka Lance!" Lina cried, waving her hands.

The guild head chuckled. "It's Elmekia Lance, my dear," he said, bouncing her slightly.

"Oh." Lina mulled over this for a moment, then held up her hands for him. "Elmekia Lance!"

The attack spell shot out, hitting the guild leader in the face. He slumped into his seat, unconscious. Lina wiggled out of the leader's lap and ran back to her father. She climbed into his lap, snuggled up to him and promptly fell asleep.

Her father ran his hands though his youngest's hair and smiled at his wife. "Well, look on the bright side. It appears we've been blessed with two talented daughters."


	6. Approval

**NOTE:** This story was originally posted in the collection "A Tale of Two Sisters." Since "Sketchbook" is suppose to be a catch-all for all of my Slayers drabbles and short one-shots, I wanted to fold that story into this one.

-----

"Approval"

The seconds ticked by on the clock on the mantle behind him. Sweat rolled down his neck and back to pool at the base of his spine. His hands remained clutched around the mug of ale offered to him minutes earlier. He mentally cursed Lina for leaving him in this mess - the latest of such they'd encountered in all of their years together. But the moment that Lina had learned who the waitress was serving them in the small restaurant near the Zefielia border, she had taken off like one of those bullet-thingies from the guns that Jillas used.

Gourry Gabriev had faced enemies before, super-strong ones. There was that Ruby-what's his name. And that Fibrizo kid. No, he didn't forget that little bastard's name. And uh...what was that one where they did all the traveling and he spent half the time starving? Oh yeah, Dark-something-or-other. And then there was the guy Luke, who turned out to be another piece of that Ruby-whatever. He could handle himself on the battlefield.

He faced the woman with the black-purple hair with resolve and hoped he didn't look at half as scared as he felt.

No, this wasn't just any enemy.

This was Lina's sister - Luna Inverse.

They measured each other up - the Knight of Ceiphied and the former Swordsman of Light, now wielder of the Blast Sword. The sister and the lover of the one called "The Enemy of All Who Live."

Luna sipped at her coffee and motioned to the ale. "Drink up. It won't bite you, you know. It took me a long time to track the two of you down. Though, I suppose considering the road that you were on that had I waited at home long enough, the two of you would had shown up."

Gourry didn't drink, because he knew if he did, he'd down the entire mug in one desperate gulp. Instead, he did what he did best - give a placating smile. "It's grape season."

Okay, so that wasn't the smartest thing he could had said. But what little mental capacity he had reserved for functions other than keeping Lina in line and swordsmanship had quickly dimished when Luna had popped up at their table with a tray of drinks and a devilish smile. She hadn't needed to introduce herself. Lina's terrified shriek and subsequent departure told Gourry who she was immediately.

"Yes, it is grape season. We produce some fine wine in Zefielia," Luna agreed with him.

A minute passed. Two minutes. Three.

Gourry started to wonder if praying to Martina's Zomelgust-thingy would actually work.

"Well, since idle-chitchat isn't getting us nowhere, I suppose I will get straight to the point of my encounter with you," Luna said. She set her coffee down and pinned Gourry with a steely gaze. "I want to know what your intentions are regarding my sister."

"Intentions?" Gourry frowned.

"Yes. If the stories are correct, you've been traveling together for three years now. That is a very long time for an unmarried man and woman to be traveling together. I am making sure that you don't sully her honor."

"Sally her honor? Who's Sally? I didn't know women could be judges!"

Luna sighed and felt a headache starting to form behind her temples. Okay, so the swordsman was as dumb as she heard. "Look, do you love my sister? How long do you plan to protect her?"

The confusion melted away and Gourry smiled at Luna with such warmth that she found a little bit of her heart also falling for the handsome swordsman.

"I'll protect her for the rest of my life," he replied and finally took a sip of his now-warm ale.

Luna wasn't entirely sure of Lina and Gourry's history together. She had only heard bits and pieces of rumors until she encountered a chimera by the name of Zelgadiss who had relayed the tale of the battles between Lina and Ruby-Eye Shabradingu and Hellmaster Filbrizo. It was the second battle that intrigued her the most, as Zelgadiss had described how Lina had cast the Giga Slave in a last-ditch effort to save Gourry and then Gourry had yelled for the Lord of Nightmares to bring Lina back. Then he'd risked his very existence to bring Lina back.

Despite how they parted, Luna Inverse loved her little sister. She wanted nothing but happiness for her, especially after being fated to fight Mazoku the way she was. Lina was short-tempered, too smart for her own good, impulsive, somewhat selfish and very brash. This man seemed very patient, laidback, easy-going and...well..had the brains of a jellyfish.

But he loved Lina more than his own life.

And for Luna, that was enough.

She rose and gave Gourry a smile. "My job here is done. I'll be going home. You probably want to go rescue Lina out of whatever hole she's managed to entomb herself in."

He smiled at her again. "I'll do that."

Luna started to walk out, then turned back to him. "Oh, Gourry-san? One more thing."

He blinked at her. "Yes?"

She picked up a butterknife off a nearby table. "When I was a girl, I once killed a plasma dragon with a knife like this. If you hurt my baby sister, I won't hesitate to do even worse to you." Her gaze drifted toward his lap.

Gourry swallowed reflexively and fought the urge to cross his legs. He gave her a weak nod. "I won't hurt her."

"Good." Luna dropped the knife on the table and headed out. Behind her, Gourry slithered to the ground in relief while two miles away, Lina hid in the bottom of a 10-foot pile of hay and whimpered.


	7. Recommendation

**NOTE:** This story was originally posted in the collection "A Tale of Two Sisters." Since "Sketchbook" is suppose to be a catch-all for all of my Slayers drabbles and short one-shots, I wanted to fold that story into this one.

-----

"Recommendation"

Every morning for the past few months, Luna Inverse rose from her bed, donned simple robes and headed to the temple of Ceiphied at the uppermost part of Zefiel City. Various priests bowed to her as she passed through the halls on her way to a circular staircase that led to the roof.

The roof was normally reserved for the annual ceremony that honored Ceiphied that she had the unfortunate burden of being the center of. It embarassed her to no end, much to the amusement of her family. When she was around, Lina had teased her constantly about the ridiculous rite filled with pagaentry and much prostrating. Luna sighed. She missed her baby sister, that was something she didn't deny. Much of the news to come to Zefielia in the past 18 months or so centered around Lina's exploits, resulting in some major battles. Luna could tell that the news worried her parents, and she would have to scold Lina for making them all fret the next time she came home.

She crossed over the wide expanse of marble, her slippers barely making a sound as she approached the edge. The wind whipped at her violet hair and Luna wished she had brought something to tie it back with. Instead, she pulled it back with one hand and with the other, shielded her eyes so she could look into the distance.

It was still there. The pillar of light she'd first spotted about two months earlier.

Luna frowned. Something about that light just didn't feel right.

"Excuse me?"

She whirled around, instantly regretting that she hadn't brought some sort of weapon with her. Her stance relaxed when she noticed a young woman standing a few feet away from her, long, blonde hair tumbling down her back and her gloved hands clasped in front of her. She wore some jeweled amulets and appeared to be some sort of priestess.

"I hate to startle you." The woman bowed formally. "My name is Filia ul Copt. I'm a priestess of the Fire Dragon King. You are Luna Inverse, correct?"

_A priestess of the Fire Dragon King?_ This was news to Luna. She had never heard of worshippers of that particular dragon king being so far north. She was more familiar with those who worship the Water Dragon King. She observed the woman a bit more carefully. She didn't appear to be all she quite seemed to be. "The ones who worship the dragon kings are dragons themselves."

"Yes, I am a golden dragon," Filia acknowledged. "I have never been this far north before, though I do know that there are golden dragons who live up in this region that worship the Water Dragon King. Until a couple of months ago, we were unable to travel beyond the magical barrier that surrounded your lands."

Which coincided with the first time she noticed the pillar of light, Luna realized. She frowned and turned back to face it. The two events had to be linked. And why did she have this funny feeling that Lina somehow caused it? She bit back a snort of laughter. Probably because indirectly, she had if the news she'd heard was true.

"About two months ago, news came to Zefielia about the defeat of Hellmaster Fibrizo, one of the subordinates of the Lord of Nightmares. At the same time, I began seeing this pillar of light. I was wondering if it came about because of the fall of Fibrizo," she commented.

"That is when we began noticing it as well," Filia replied. "It is also when we received our prophecy."

"Prophecy?" Luna turned her attention back to Filia. "What was your prophecy?"

Filia approached Luna and stared past her at the light. "Those who control the evil stars shall be led by the Light, and will hide the world in Darkness. Dragon blood shall cover the world, leading the power of Light and Dark, revealing the stars. The power of those stars shall be darker than twilight and brighter than the sunrise. When at its peak, it will become a streaking arrow that will pierce the heavens."

Her eyes metLuna's. "No one is quite sure what it means, but we are guessing that humans is the key to solving this prophecy. The Elder of our temple said we must seek out the most powerful human we can find. After exhaustive research, we discovered you - the Knight of Ceiphied."

"I see." Luna mulled over the prophecy. It would take some doing, but eventually she could put it all together. But, one part of it was very clear.

"Unfortunately, I can't help you," she informed Filia.

The priestess gasped, eyes widening in shock. "But...but Luna-san! If you don't do this, the entire world could be destroyed!"

"Calm down," Luna ordered her in a stern voice she normally reserved for Lina and unruly patrons. "I told you I couldn't help you, not that I wouldn't do this. I don't understand all of it, but in our word, magic is divided between the power of light and dark - or white and black. You're going to require someone who has a huge capacity to control magic." Her stern expression softened and she smiled. "You have heard of Hellmaster Fibrizo and Ruby Eye Shabranigdu, yes?"

"Vaguely," Filia acknowledged.

"I can not perform magic. As the Knight of Ceiphied, I am a swordsman. I don't know magic. However, I do know the sorceress who has successfully defeated both Fibrizo andone of the sevenpieces of Shabranigdu." Luna chuckled softly. "Her letters home don't speak of these accomplishments, but news has its way of spreading fast. Zefiel City was amazed that one of its own has done such heroic deeds, but the city has a way of producing such people."

"Ah, I see," Filia replied, still not quite sure of this sorceress' accomplishments.

"You must locate a young woman, about 17 years old. She has long, chestnut hair and red eyes. She's very short, both in stature and temper. Her name is Lina Inverse. Her traveling companions, from what I recall, is a blond-hairedswordsman by the name of Gourry Gabriev, a chimera named Zelgadis Graywords, and Amelia wil Tesla Saillune, one of the crown princesses of Saillune. You'd do well to find all of them."

"Lina...Inverse?" Filia frowned. "Is that your sister?"

"Last time I checked, yes." Luna started back toward the stairs. "I will give you a letter to take with you. Do not tell her under any circumstances the real reason I won't take this mission. I really don't feel like seeking her out and giving her a little attitude adjustment because her head is too inflated."

Filia chuckled. "What shall I say?"

"Just say I'm busy with my part-time job as a waitress...which is true. You wouldn't believe the amount of money I'd lose by doing this. She has nothing better to do at the moment, so she can do it in my stead." Luna paused and tossed a glance over her shoulder at the priestess. "Oh, by the way, my sister's weaknesses are food and money. You'd be wise to tempt her with both."

What an odd woman, Filia thought as Luna descended down the stairs. She glanced back at the pillar of light one more time, then smiled. Though, when she spoke of her,Luna seemed proud. She would seek out Luna's sister and see if she would do the job.

-----

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The prophecy itself was taken from the Slayers Universe page. It's not unreasonable to think that Luna would know something about Lina's exploits, considering that everyone loves gossip. While most of the commoners would probably not know much, people in higher magic circles and important people like Luna more than likely know a little more about what exactly happened.


	8. 50 Sentences: LG

**Spoiler warnings:** These are 50 short one-sentence drabbles written for the LiveJournal community 1sentence. The pairing I picked for this claim was Lina/Gourry. There's only a few spoilers here for Slayers NEXT, the novels and Knight of Aqualord. A few of these skim the upper end of the T-rating scale.

-----

"50 Sentences: Lina/Gourry"

**1.Air**   
Gourry could never understand why Lina loved to soar through the air like a bird, especially since he vastly preferred to keep his feet on the ground.

**2. Apples**  
One of the most peaceful moments in recent history for Lina was when she and Gourry sat beneath a tree outside of Atlas City, munching on apples and talking about nothing.

**3. Beginning  
** His first impression of her was a skinny, flat-chest kid with a big mouth and had no idea just how much she would come to mean to him.

**4. Bugs  
** Lina hated the very idea of bugs, especially slugs that were slimy and leaked ooze on you, but Gourry really didn't mind the moment she fled into his arms for protection from them.

**5. Coffee  
** Even though Zelgadiss drank coffee by the bucketload, both Lina and Gourry agreed that they vastly preferred tea.

**6. Dark**   
Sometimes, everything that Lina ever did comes back to her in the dark and it is then she reaches for Gourry and remembers that in the end, it was all worth it.

**7. Despair**  
Lina never thought she could feel despair - but the moment that Hellmaster Phibrizzo ensnared Gourry in bands of Mazoku power, the feeling swamped her in frighteningly huge waves.

**8. Doors**   
Gourry never remembered the black-haired fisherman who convinced him not to throw away the Sword of Light, but he did remember that the event caused him to close one door on his life and open the one that led to meeting Lina.

**9. Drink**   
They were quite a pair when drunk and Lina always found it amusing how alcohol seemed to make Gourry more intelligent.

**10. Duty**   
No one told Gourry it was his duty to protect Lina, but he eventually realized that the one to issue him his orders was his heart.

**11. Earth**   
There was no greater joy than the moment they each discovered the other was alive and celebrated, spinning above the world as they kissed.

**12. End**   
"Do you think this is an end to our journey?" she asks when she discovers she's pregnant, but his answering smile made her realize that they were embarking on an entirely different one.

**13. Fail**   
Lina never told Gourry of the time he failed to protect her, when he had been under Phibrizzo's control and nearly killed her; she knew that he would not be able to live with the guilt.

**14. Fire**   
She was the fire in their relationship, bright and passionate in everything she did - from casting a spell to eating food to when they fell on the bed together and she rolled them over so that she could be on top.

**15. Flexible**  
They had no set schedule and preferred it that way.

**16. Flying**   
Lina could never understand why Gourry was so scared of flying when she loved to soar through the air and truly feel free.

**17. Food**   
Amelia once said that Lina and Gourry suppressed their sexual urges for each other through their food fights, but even after they consummated their relationship, Lina realized that the food fights was just a part of who they were.

**18. Foot**   
She never realized how sensitive a foot could be until he gently trailed a single fingernail down one arch and she nearly shot off the bed from the sensation.

**19. Grave**   
Every year, Lina and Gourry visit the graves they had made for Luke and Millina and silently thank Ceiphied that it's not them lying in the ground.

**20. Green  
** Lina never realized how jealous she'd been of Sylphiel's friendship with Gourry until her world seemed to be tinted green whenever she was around the shrine maiden and Lina was ashamed of it.

**21. Head**   
Sometimes, Lina thinks that absolutely nothing is going on inside Gourry's head.

**22. Hollow**   
In fact, she's quite sure that it's hollow.

**23. Honor**   
She was loud, rude, greedy, selfish and obnoxious - but Gourry found himself won over by Lina's sense of honor.

**24. Hope**   
It never failed that whenever she felt she couldn't carry through with her burdens, he always appeared at her side and instilled her with hope.

**25. Light**   
Lina wasn't quite sure when she stopped being enchanted by the Sword of Light and became completely enthralled with the man who owned it.

**26. Lost**   
They said she was lost inside of that Sea of Payoff, but he didn't care - he was going to find her and bring her back to his side where she belonged.

**27. Metal**  
To many men, a sword was just a hunk of metal, but Lina knew that the Sword of Light had been much more than that to Gourry and vowed to help find him a replacement that meant just as much.

**28. New  
** After it was all said and done, Gourry found that he treasured the Blast Sword more than he did the Sword of Light.

**29. Old**   
Not that the Sword of Light was anything to be ashamed of, but it was still a reminder of the painful memories of his past.

**30. Peace**   
But the Blast Sword was a symbol of the peaceful and happy relationship that he had found with Lina, and Gourry decided that the love he felt for her was a much better legacy to leave to their children rather than the pain.

**31. Poison**   
"When the bottle says don't drink, you really shouldn't drink it," Lina scolds Gourry as she does her best to cast a Dicleary on him.

**32. Pretty**   
He called her flat-chested so many times that she didn't believe him the first time he told her that she looked pretty.

**33. Rain**   
They were caught beneath a huge tree, which did little to shield them from the rain falling around them; but when his arms suddenly wrapped around her waist, she didn't mind getting wet at all.

**34. Regret**   
Lina lifts her hands and has no regrets - if she dies chanting the Giga Slave, as long as Gourry lived, it was all worth it.

**35. Roses**   
Amelia hands Gourry a bouquet of striking red roses and whispers, "You might want to have these in front of you when you go see Lina-san, because she isn't happy with you right now;" but Gourry knows that no amount of flowers would stop one of Lina's fireballs.

**36. Secret**   
"Let's keep this a secret for awhile," she urges as they lie in bed, bodies cooling, and he agrees.

**37. Snakes**   
"I didn't realize that you hated snakes as much as slugs," Gourry comments as Lina does her best to literately crawl into his body to get away from them.

**38. Snow**   
Gourry had never seen snow, and Lina thought the child-like look on his face when he laughed and tried to catch snowflakes with his tongue was endearing.

**39. Solid**   
Whenever Lina feels like she can't face the trials before her, Gourry is confident about what to say to comfort her because he knows that they've faced hell and have come through the other side.

**40. Spring**   
As she looks up at the giant temple that replaced Flagoon, Lina realizes that it's spring and it's not right that Gourry isn't there to experience it with her.

**41. Stable**   
Gourry never quite understood magic, but he knew the dangers of it, yet he never felt afraid when he saw Lina's steady and sure hands rise to cast a Dragon Slave.

**42. Strange**   
Somehow, being cursed to speak Octopi didn't seem strange to either of them. It just seemed like a normal part of their lives.

**43. Summer**   
They met in the summer, married in the summer, had their child in the summer and because of all that, it seemed like the best season.

**44. Taboo**   
"Won't people think this is taboo," Gourry comments the first time they share a room as partners and Lina simply snorts and replies, "Only if we have sex, jellyfish!"

**45. Ugly  
** Sometimes, she passes by a mirror and thinks that she's ugly because her breasts aren't that big, but then realizes that whenever Gourry groped or made a rude comment about them, that means he was still bothering to look.

**46. War**   
It felt like they had been involved in one war after another from the day that they met, and when their daughter was born, they vowed to do everything they could to keep her out of them.

**47. Water**   
He found her naked, stretched over the water with her red hair streaming around her and wondered if this is what a goddess was suppose to look like.

**48. Welcome**   
She was confused about why he simply ruffled her hair when she came back from defeating Rikufalso, but then he leaned forward and whispered, "I'll give you a proper welcome later," which caused her to blush and wonder exactly what he meant.

**49. Winter**   
Lina didn't know much about Gourry's family, but one morning he stared at the grey sky and said, "I left home on a day like this," and her heart ached for him.

**50. Wood**   
Lina once thought herself of being incapable of feeling love for someone, but somehow Gourry got lodged into her life much like an arrow hit a tree and refused to fall out.


	9. The Thing About Xelloss

**Disclaimer:** Slayers isn't mine but belongs to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I'm just borrowing them and allowing Xelloss to manipulate them for a little white.

**Author's Note:** This story was written for nightfallrising on the Slayers Request community in LiveJournal. I was given three challenges to work from and I picked the following: "Filia struggles to see what Lina-san sees in that walking filth. Meanwhile, Xelloss, to Zel's horror, has discovered Sylphiel's ruthless streak, and is deeply impressed."

-----

"The Thing About Xelloss"

"I just don't get what you see in that piece of Mazoku trash!"

Lina looked up from her scrambled eggs at Filia, whose eyes were focused on a certain Mazoku lounging at the opposite end of the table. "Xelloss?"

"Yes!" Fists clenched, Filia trembled as she fought her anger. She did not like the way that Xelloss was looking at the dragon's egg nestled in the bassinet a few feet away from the table. The only reason she hadn't wanted the egg near the table in the first place was the absolute and very justified fear that the human eating machines known as Lina and Gourry would accidentally mistake it for an uncooked chicken egg. "Why is he still here?" she demanded. "We've defeated Darkstar and everyone's suppose to be going their separate ways! Quite frankly he can be the first to go."

"Filia-san!" Xelloss placed a hand over his non-existant heart. "I'm very shocked by your feelings indeed. Very shocked and wounded that you would desire me out of your presence so much!"

Filia growled and Xelloss neatly ducked the tea cup that just happened to be hurtled in his direction at that very moment. The china shattered when it hit the wall and Filia sat back, growing even more incensed. "That was my favorite tea cup!"

"Well, you shouldn't had thrown it," Xelloss told her with the patience one used when instructing a small child.

"You made me!"

_"What the hell is this?"_

Filia, Xelloss and Lina all looked over at Zelgadiss, whose face had managed to go chalk white - a feat even for one whose skin was literally stone.

"What's wrong, Zel?" Gourry asked after swallowing a bite of sausage, the only one not currently gawking at the chimera.

"It's a letter from Sylphiel! She says she knows of a rich family of seven daughters and a father eager to wed them off. He'll give her the family's well-known magical sword if he can find her a groom for one of the daughters, so she gave them my name! She wants to marry me off so Gourry can have a new sword!"

"How nice," Xelloss commented.

_"Nice!"_ Zelgadiss bellowed. "You call that _nice_?"

"It seems that Sylphiel-san would do anything for her Gourry-sama," Xelloss said lightly. "That girl has quite the ruthless streak when it comes to our swordsman, doesn't it?"

Before Filia could ask who Sylphiel was, a low growl sounded from the chair beside her. Filia glanced over, then winced as a red haze of power surrounded the sorceress that sat next to her. Lina's hands gripped the seat of her chair so tightly that the wood was beginning to crack. The magic she emitted was making the plates rattle.

Xelloss merely smiled.

Filia and Zelgadiss scooted their chairs away from Lina. Far, far away.

Gourry thought that the corned beef hash that Jillas made that morning was particularly excellent, especially when accented with just a slight drizzle of maple syrup. He licked his lips and relieved Lina of her share. She never noticed.

"How does this Sylphiel person know that Gourry-san needs a new sword anyhow?" Filia asked Zelgadiss. "It's only been a few days since he returned the Sword of Light to its rightful owners."

"That does seem puzzling," Zelgadiss agreed. "It's almost as if someone was feeding her certain bits of information."

"I wonder who that could be?" Filia scowled at Xelloss.

He kept smiling. "Sylphiel-san sends her love to all of you. Especially Gourry-san. I have to say, I'm quite impressed about the lengths Sylphiel-san will go to for him. I'm sure you'll make a most lovely groom, Zelgadiss-san!"

One decimated kitchen table later, Lina stormed out of the room muttering something about how "I'll be the one to find that jellyfish a new sword, thank you very much."

Gourry looked up from his plate of corned beef hash, which he happened to rescue seconds before Lina reduced the table to splinters. "What's with her?"

Zelgadiss glared at Xelloss. "I hate you. I hate you so very much."

Xelloss's eyes opened fully and he beamed at Zelgadiss. "Why Zelgadiss-san! I didn't know you cared!"

"Why would you be happy that I...hate...," Zelgadiss's voice trailed off as the implications of what he was telling the Mazoku hit him. With a scream of frustration, he slammed his head against the wall and promptly got stuck.

"Zelgadiss-san!" Amelia cried, walking into the kitchen just in time to see Zelgadiss proceed to become one with the wall. She rushed to his side to help him remove his hair from the wood.

"You know the funny thing about Xelloss?" Gourry said to Filia after finishing the last bite of hash. "He doesn't make life boring. It's probably why Lina keeps him around. Oh, and to use him for her own purposes."

Filia eyed Gourry as she retrieved another tea cup and wondered what was more amazing - that the swordsman had apparently been listening the entire time or the fact that he was probably right.


	10. The Path of Justice

**Disclaimer:** Slayers isn't mine but belongs to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I'm just borrowing them and allowing Xelloss to manipulate them for a little white.

**Author's Note:** This story was written for the 31 Days community on LiveJournal. The theme for this story was "My people shall never be ashamed." This story takes place right after episode 11 in the anime.

-----

"The Path of Justice"

"Hey, Prince Phil? Why aren't you in your kingdom like any other prince?"

The rather obvious question had come from Gourry, the mastermind of asking the rather obvious question. The only reason why Lina decided that her fist didn't need to meet the blond's head for the fourteenth time that day was because she happened to agree with her partner completely. Princes, she thought, were much better off doing prince-type stuff in their own kingdoms - especially when they failed to look anything like a handsome fairy tale at all.

Nope. Lina was not bitter. Not even a smidgeon. She tore off another piece of chicken and chewed it while she stared across the campfire at the two newest members of their party that they had acquired that day. Not bitter at all. No sir, not even bother. The fact that Prince Phil looked and acted like an ogre wasn't perplexing her one bit.

"Daddy quests for the sake of justice!" Amelia piped up, her eyes nearly turning into stars as she prepared to launch into a lengthy list of his brave and noble deeds for the sake of justice.

"That's my Amelia!" Phil laughed and ruffled his daughter's hair affectionately. "Why do you travel, Gourry-san?"

Gourry jerked a thumb at Lina. "I'm keeping her in line."

Lina glared daggers at him. "I don't need anyone to keep me in line! I was doing just fine before you showed up, thank you very much!"

Gourry gave her a cool, patient look that infuriated her. Lina abandoned her meal, intending to kick him into the following week.

"But why did you choose to keep Lina-san in line?" Phil asked.

"Because Gourry-san and Lina-san are in love with each other!" Amelia piped up.

"We are _not _in love!" The two in question screamed at the princess. Amelia merely gave them a knowing smile.

"Well," Gourry said after a moment while Lina switched her plans to plotting Amelia's death. "I protect Lina because she needed my help..."

"I did not!"

"...and I know that my mother and grandmother would be ashamed of me if I didn't help her. Then Lina continued to need my help..."

"I only want the Sword of Light, damn it!"

"...and so I knew I had to protect her as a matter of honor. I want to be with her. Even though she's loud, rude, flat-chested, could be a bit more ladylike...," Gourry ticked off Lina's faults on one hand as she proceeded to turn the color of a ripe tomato.

"And now you know why I travel," Phil proclaimed.

Gourry gave him a blank look. "Because you're fixated with Lina's flat chest too?"

"That's it! You are _so_ dead!" Lina leapt at Gourry.

Phil coughed and gazed up at the stars. "My father is very ill. In his lifetime, Saillune endured unnecessary hardship and it's only been within the last few years since the majority of the power has transferred to me that I've been able to restore my people's confidence in the royal family. I took a vow a long time ago that my people would never be ashamed of me. By doing good deeds in the name of justice, I hope I am proving Saillune's worth as a peaceful kingdom to them."

"Daddy, I don't think they're listening," Amelia observed as Lina shook Gourry violently, yelling about how there was a fireball in his future.

"Ah, just as well." Phil picked up the pie tin that the bickering duo had abandoned. "Pie, Amelia?"

"Thanks, Daddy!"


	11. More Observations

**Author's Note:** I did the following meme on LiveJournal a month or so ago: _"Give me one of my own stories, and a timestamp sometime in the future after the end of the story, or sometime in the past before the story started, and I'll write you at least a hundred words of what happened then, whether it's five minutes before the story started or ten years in the future."_

Zenavvy chose to have me write about the events one day after "Observation," the short story posted a bit earlier in this collection.

If any of you have a request for this particular meme, please visit my LiveJournal (dqbunny) or leave a review comment here!

-----

"More Observations"

Breakfast the following morning after Lina discovered that Amelia and Zelgadiss were now a couple was a very ... tense occasion. Amelia and Zelgadiss were sitting close together, but contrary to the noises that half the town heard the day before, they were acting very platonic toward each other. It made sense, give Amelia's upbringing as a princess and Zelgadiss's naturally reserved personality. There were differences, Gourry observed. They sat closer together and there was a different sort of feel about them. He really was very happy for them, even a touch envious.

"They make a good couple," Gourry commented as he joined Lina at the breakfast buffet.

Lina speared up a sausage link, then caught sight of the happy couple. She glanced at the sausage, then at Amelia and Zelgadiss and immediately dropped the serving fork.

"What's with you?" Gourry helped himself to the sausage.

"Nothing," Lina ground out. She stomped to the table.

Because he knew Lina, he quickly followed and took a seat blocking her view. "Cheer up," he told her. "There's worse things in life."

"Such as?" Lina asked around a mouthful of scrambled eggs.

"Well, at least they didn't do it on your bed."

She spat out the food. Gourry gave her a sunny smile. She jabbed her fork at him. "You just love to torture me, don't you?"

"Absolutely!" Gourry cheerfully agreed.

Then he risked his life and kissed her cheek.

-----

"So, was it worth it?" Zelgadiss asked Gourry 15 minutes later once they managed to put the fire in his hair out. Amelia already had scissors out and was trimming away the burnt areas.

"Absolutely!"


End file.
